NPE 2012 Plastics Show Preview

NPE2012 will be the largest plastics exposition in the Western Hemisphere, providing access to North America’s $400-billion/year plastics marketplace and serving as a hub of trade for plastics companies from South America, Europe, and Asia. In 2009, NPE attracted 1,851 exhibitors on 977,660 sq.ft. (88,00 sq. m) of net space; 33% of them came directly from outside the U.S. More than 45,000 people from 19,000 companies in 101 countries registered for NPE2009. A complete schedule of events can be found online at www.npe.org.

Produced by SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association, the triennial NPE international plastics exposition will next take place on April 1-5, 2012, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, after 40 years in which the show was held in Chicago. “The improved economies and logistics of the new venue have encouraged many NPE2012 exhibitors to purchase more exhibit space and bring more machinery to the show, much of it to be operated on-site,” said Gene Sanders, SPI senior vice president of trade shows and conferences. “Contributing to this enhanced commitment by exhibitors is the steadily improving manufacturing sector of the U.S. economy.”

Compressed Air, Pneumatics, Blower and Vacuum Technology Exhibitors

We highly recommend that blow molders take the time to review their compressed air, pneumatic, blower & vacuum systems, and then visit the booths at NPE 2012 of these technology providers to discover the ways they can improve the energy efficiency and productivity of their systems.

GD Bellis & Morcom (Booth 623) oil-free reciprocating compressors are specifically designed for PET bottle-blowing to ensure many years of reliable trouble-free operation in all operating environments. These compressors are designed for optimum performance resulting in low power consumption providing a cost effective solution for today's bottle blowing applications.

The VS Series™ , from Gardner Denver (Booth 623), is a complete, revolutionary, rotary screw air compressor line that delivers optimal performance over a wide operating range. The flexibility of this line provides stable pressure in the plant resulting in maximum productivity. The VS Series™ is so reliable that Gardner Denver backs it with the best warranty in the business. The “Bigger Is Better” philosophy has never held truer than with the Electra-Saver II rotary screw air compressor. The BIG, slow-speed air end, along with the gearless design of the Electra-Saver II, results in a 3-5% efficiency advantage over the competition.

Booth 623: GD Bellis & Morcom oil-free reciprocating air compressor for PET bottle-blowing.

Kaeser Compressors (Booth 7377) announced it’s versatile aluminum SmartPipe™ is now available in a 6” diameter. The new size brings all the advantages of the popular compressed air piping to larger industrial air systems. SmartPipe is a modular piping system for dry, wet, or lubricated compressed air and inert gases. Made from engineered alloys and polymers, SmartPipe will not rust and the smooth interior results in better flow. It is completely removable and reusable, and can be modified to accommodate changing needs. The system is designed for simplified installation without threading, welding or brazing. The new 6” SmartPipe not only integrates easily with existing steel or copper systems, but also SmartPipe sizes down to 2 ½”.

Kaeser Compressors SmartPipe™ system

Atlas Copco Compressors (Booth 31013) will be unveiling a brand new booth concept at the 2012 NPE show. With energy-recovery continuing to be a hot topic within the industry, the booth has been designed with an energy recovery concept throughout and will be showcasing the wide range of air compressors, accessories and auditing capabilities that are specifically tailored for the Plastics Industry.

Both oil-free and oil-injected technologies will be on show, as well as giving visitors the chance to interact with the latest energy-saving control systems live on the booth. Products on display will include the GA&, ZT22 and ES360.

Booth 31013: Atlas Copco ZT22 Full-Feature Oil-Free Air Compressor

Becker Pumps Corp (Booth 29038) is introducing their new VTLF2 series of pumps featuring improved cooling, reduced noise, greater ease of maintenance, and hands-off evaluation of the filters. Continuous duty vacuum levels to 27 in.HgV, with flows from 127 to 173 CFM. Applications include PVC extrusion, thermoforming, VARTM, and more.

Booth 29038: Becker Pump new VTLF2 Series vacuum pumps

AF Compressors (Booth #575) specializes in providing high-pressure, oil-free systems for PET stretch blow molding applications. Since providing the first PET air compressor over 30 years ago, the entire Ateliers Francois organization has been dedicated in providing the best product and aftermarket support for their customers throughout the world.

AF’s unique “L-Design” is a proven, robust compressor that can reduce your plants total operating expenses, in both maintenance and power costs, versus other competitive machines that are being offered in our market. The compressor range offers capacities from 225 to 3,200 m³/h at a 40 bar operating pressure. Each compressor package includes refrigerated air dryer, air receiver, and starter/control panel with PLC controls. As options, we can provide closed loop cooling systems, high pressure regulators, variable speed drives, and multiple compressor controllers to meet the specific needs of your project. AF Compressors has over 4,000+ PET air compressors in 137 countries.

Booth 575: AF Compressor “L-Design” PET Air Compressor

Displaying the some of the newest technologies of oil-free air compression will be the Hitachi Air Technology Group (Booth 33028). Serving the highest ISO 8573.1 Air Quality Classifications, the Multiplex SRL Series Oil-Less Scroll compressor and related Oil-Free Air Purification are amongst the many unique products within Hitachi’s Oil-Free Compressed Air Portfolio that will be on display.

Booth 33028: Hitachi SRL Series Oil-Free Air Compressor

Companies engaged in blow molding need compressed air at a range of different pressures in the plant. BOGE Compressors (Booth 10021) will be displaying their SRHV Series Booster Compressor. This product is a two-cylinder machine rated for up to 94 cfm at 580 psi. BOGE will also be displaying the C 30 rotary screw air compressor, featuring a small footprint and high efficiency profile, rated for 135 cfm at 100 psi.

Booth 10021: BOGE Booster Compressor

Blow Molders Can Save Energy in their Compressed Air Systems

Plastic is a material that surrounds us in the products we use every day. Simply put, at NPE one finds all the machinery required to make these plastic products! This is why thousands of blow molders visit NPE. After years of system assessments in blow molding facilities, we at Compressed Air Best Practices ® Magazine know that most have significant energy savings opportunities in their compressed air systems. Almost all of these projects have simple ROI’s in the 1-2 year range.

Injection and extrusion blow molders operate compressed air systems at 100 psig generating average annual energy costs of $200-750,000. SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association

Injection and extrusion blow molders manufacture the plastic bins, car panels, toothbrushes, cell phone covers, printer covers, and plastic containers we use in every day life. They require compressed air systems running at 80-100 psi. “Most injection and extrusion blow molders typically have 400-600 horsepower of installed air compressors, generating $200-$750,000 per year in energy costs with a 35-45% savings opportunity,” according to Dean Smith of iZ Systems.

Stretch blow molders manufacture plastic beverage bottles for water, soft drinks, juices, and beer. Thy require compressed air systems ranging from 294 psi (1/2 liter water bottles), 440 psi (1-liter bottles for carbonated soft drinks and juices), and 520 psi (2-liter bottles for carbonated soft drinks). They also need 100 psi “plant air”. Smith continued, “Most stretch blow molders typically have 2,000 to 4,000 horsepower of installed air compressors, generating $1-$3 million in annual energy costs with a 10-20% savings opportunity.”

All blow molders deploy pneumatic, blower and vacuum technologies present in a variety of OEM machinery present in upstream and downstream applications from the molders.

Stretch blow molders operate compressed air systems ranging from 100 psig to 520 psi generating average annual energy costs of $1-$3 million. Image Source: SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association

We also recommend that companies engaged in stretch blow molding visit SIDEL (Booth 8825) and ask about their ECO Services program. The ECO Booster™ component of this program is available for the SBO Series1, Series2, and Series3 PET blow molders. This audit will examine ways to reduce the compressed air costs generated by these SIDEL blow molding machines.

KRONES (Booth 649) offers the Air Wizard package on their Contiform Blow molding machines to optimize the energy costs associated with compressed air. The Air Wizard will achieve the following improvements:

• The reduction of the dead space volume comprises a reduction of the valve block volume and blowing nozzle volume.
• Based on the optimisation of the process-technological processes of final blowing, the final blowing pressure necessary regarding the quality and shape of the PET bottle can be reduced.
• When recycling the final blowing pressure, a part of the blowing air is used during the pressure relief phase.

Booth 649: KRONES Contiform 3 PET blow molding machine.

To conclude, don’t forget to visit the booth of Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine (Booth 10022) and to sign up your colleagues in the plastics industry for a FREE subscription to our monthly publication!

For more Plastics Industry articles, please click here.

March 2012